Sabrina Sloan made the final 16 on “American Idol” this year before she was eliminated – sooner than the judges and many fans had expected.

But there’s nothing like a major-label record contract to ease the sting of that defeat.

Sloan, a 1997 graduate of Mission Viejo High School, now has a freshly signed two-album deal with Universal Records Motown, with the first album slated for release in November.

She’ll debut with a collection of duets with fellow “American Idol” contestant Sundance Head – eliminated the same night she was, and like her, a singer who initially looked like he’d go deeper into the competition than he ultimately did.

The album will be produced by Peter Collins, whose credits include Bon Jovi and Rush, and will include both new songs and covers of classic tunes. After that album is finished Sloan will start work on a solo album.

To find out how it all came together and how she’s preparing for the recording session that starts in a week or so, we put in a call to Sabrina.

Q. When and how did you find out about the record contract?

A.Right after I got voted off in March, a couple of days after that, they sent an e-mail thru my mom. Somebody had found someone from my mom’s church, something like that. She called me and forwarded me the e-mail – “Universal wants to talk to you!”

At that point, the glass was looking more half empty than half full – after just coming off the show – so I kind of thought, “Ah, it probably won’t be anything.” But I called and they set up a meeting. I went and met with Jolene (Cherry, a Universal executive) and she kind of told me her idea.

You walk in and see the records on the wall, you start to get really excited. But it was a long process of getting out of the “Idol” contract.

Q. What’s it like to all of a sudden be on a major label? Part of Motown at that?

A.It’s incredible. This isn’t an indie label – you can have success either way – but there’s nothing like the machine of Universal Motown to promote your CD. And the legends that have been there, the people who are on the label now, it’s a dream come true.

Q. What’s Sundance like? You guys get along?

A.Absolutely. He’s a genuinely sweet, thoughtful guy. Both of us are married, he even has a little baby boy, so we’re kind of on the same page of life. He cracks me up because he’s from Texas, and coming out here to Hollywood is kind of a new thing for him. He’s very endearing. Even on the show he was the guy who was crying when people got voted off.

Q. How were the songs picked for the duets album?

A.So far we’ve been able to submit some of our own stuff, and name what songs we like best, and what ones we don’t think will work from the list. It’s been a real group effort. We were really a part of the creative process.

Q. Can you name a few of the covers that might be on it?

A. It’s still kind of up in the air. We have solidified the list we’re picking from, but we’re still not totally sure. It’s a lot of soulful stuff, stuff people will definitely recognize. But some stuff is not things that were even duets before. There could be some Isley Brothers in there. That’s probably the first one.

Q. What kind of solo album do want to make after this one?

A.I’m working on my music, and writing my music to prepare for that project. I want it to be very funky with a kind of hip-hop edge to it, but still sort of poppy. It might be along a Justin (Timberlake) kind of line.

Q. Being on “American Idol,” I’m assuming it was worth it?

A.Oh, absolutely. I would have done it again in a heartbeat. I have no regrets, and I went in with my eyes wide open about what the show was, and what could happen.

You still get caught up in it, so to leave that early is disappointing. But I still feel like everyone is able to walk away with more opportunities than you’d have been able to have going in. So I feel really fortunate and really blessed to have had the exposure.

Peter Larsen has been the Pop Culture Reporter for the Orange County Register since 2004, finally achieving the neat trick of getting paid to report and write about the stuff he's obsessed about pretty much all his life. He regularly covers the Oscars and the Emmys, goes to Comic-Con and Coachella, reviews pop music, and conducts interviews with authors and actors, musicians and directors, a little of this and a whole lot of that. He grew up, in order, in California, Arkansas, Kentucky and Oregon. Graduated from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Ore. with degrees in English and Communications. Earned a master's degree at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. Earned his first newspaper paycheck at the Belleville (Ill.) News-Democrat, fled the Midwest for Los Angeles Daily News and finally ended up at the Orange County Register. He's taught one or two classes a semester in the journalism and mass communications department at Cal State Long Beach since 2006. Somehow managed to get a lovely lady to marry him, and with her have two daughters. And a dog named Buddy. Never forget the dog.

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